At what point does extreme mental illness become untreatable, and must doctors continue to treat patients even against their will? Katie Engelhart discusses how while some psychologists are turning to palliative care for anorexics who have finished battling their symptoms, other doctors consider that approach professionally unethical. , considers these questions in detail. (Palliative care, which began with dying cancer patients, focuses on alleviating suffering rather than treating the disease.) new york times magazine In some cases, you may end up going back and forth between both sides. The story begins with a patient named Naomi. Her anorexia, along with bipolar disorder and severe depression, forever changed her life and led her to enter treatment programs, often without her consent.
After reading a study that argues that patients with eating disorders should have the option to discontinue treatment, she learns that one of its authors, Dr. Joel Jaeger, lives locally, and his patients Became. Mr. Jaeger, who is the central figure in this article, co-authored a paper in 2022 that coined the term “terminal anorexia,” sparking a debate over whether medical waste exists in mental health care. . Critics argue that without a clear distinction, there is no way to know whether a patient is untreatable. One doctor who has treated thousands of patients said he was still “amazed” by his patients and said he could never predict who would recover. Some expressed concern that terminal conditions could become the diagnosis patients strive to obtain. This debate is now in full swing academically, and you can read some interesting details about it. here. (Or check out our other Longform summaries.)